Forgotten Friend
by Castitas
Summary: The mysterious disappearance of one Nigel Uno left a certain Supreme Leader baffled. With no trace to be found, Rachel attempts to piece together where her top operative went and hopefully put an end to the Splinter Cell before they can take anyone else.


_I knew it. I _knew_ it! How could I let this happen?_ Typing furiously on her keyboard, Rachel looked through various reports that are displayed on her monitor. _After all this time as Supreme Leader, how could I just let the Splinter Cell waltz right in and snatch one of my operatives like they were taking candy from Stickybeard!?_

Frustration was settling in as the Supreme Leader of the Kids Next Door attempted to piece together the mystery regarding her missing sector leader. Is this what Numbuh 100 felt when Sector Z went missing?

Its been over a week now since Nigel's been gone, since the latest mission for the Delightfuls' birthday cake. A mission that, according to reports from her brother's sector, was derailed by Numbuh 74.239, who was _not_ authorized to interfere with the cake's capture. 74.239 has been MIA since and has been labeled as a rogue operative.

_Never mind the fact that he's suspect number one in Nigel's disappearance._

How could this have happened? Rachel had finally found some activity regarding the Splinter cell. All the intel gathered pointed to Sector V, specifically their bald leader. For what purpose, Rachel hadn't been able to figure out. Their treehouse was hacked and the science geeks on Moonbase were lost as to exactly what had happened. Hacking an entire KND treehouse's systems was something that the adults and teenagers weren't capable of.

Thinking back on Nigel's report regarding the rampaging treehouse, Rachel shook her head in shame. Her suspicions were right, the Splinter Cell _was_ after Nigel, but something was missing. Why would a rogue organization want to take control of his mission comms in order to send him on random, low-level operations?

He was pretty bummed about his girlfriend breaking up with him. Maybe that's what caused it, the large amount of missions in a short span of time. Maybe they were trying to isolate him?

_If only he had accepted my invite… maybe I could've avoided all of this if I had just tried harder._

Sighing, Rachel had displayed the transcripts of Sector V's report of the cake mission on her monitor. All four members confirmed that their leader had a tracking beacon on him at the time of disappearance, but by the time they had reached its location he was already gone. All searches of the surrounding area provided no clues as to where he was taken. The remaining members of Sector V, according to Sector W, were more sad than confused that they were missing the bald operative. Further debriefing yielded no further answers from the shorthanded sector.

All attempts at interrogating the scientists at the Deep-Sea Lab about 74.239 had turned up nothing. All threats from broccoli duty to loss of candy and ice cream privileges failed to even have one tattle on 74.239. The only result was a lot of crying kids.

"Numbuh 362?" A voice called from the entrance to her office. It was the lead KND ambassador, Numbuh Infinity.

"Come in Numbuh Infinity," Rachel replied. "How's the carnival negotiations going? Have they finally decided to lower the height requirement to include kids under age eight?" The folks in the FUN Klub have gotten super strict since the cotton candy incident a couple months ago. Who knew cotton candy could break a Ferris wheel off its hinges?

"Ah, yes. We're still… negotiating a reasonable agreement to convince Numbuh 7996 to look the other way. I've enlisted the help of Numbuh 48 Flavors in that matter." Taking a seat on the opposite side of Rachel's desk, Infinity clears his throat. "However, I am here to make sure everything is alright with you. Rumors are starting to spread about how our Supreme Leader is becoming a shut-in computer geek."

"Everything's fine, just looking through a missing kid's case. We haven't had any kids go missing in years, and I'm not about to end the streak now."

Humming in agreement, Infinity replied, "I agree that a missing kid is terrible for KND morale, especially one of our top operatives, however you shouldn't spend so much time on one kid. There are thousands of kids that need your guidance."

_This again?_ "This isn't just 'one kid', there's a rogue cell in our organization that isn't just undermining my authority but also targeting my operatives! Do you think I should stand by while these traitors attack us?"

"You say that as if Numbuh 1 was kidnapped," Infinity coolly replied. "During the failed treaty with the teenagers, I had caught Numbuh 1 meeting with Chad behind closed doors in an attempt to sabotage the treaty. You can check the reports yourself. I had them sent to the Arctic prison for captivity until further questioning. But as we all know, they never arrived at their intended destination."

Before Rachel could retort, Infinity continued, "Chad was Numbuh 1's mentor during his days at the academy. We should have realized that it was only a matter of time before the traitor would convince his former student to betray us."

Incredulous, Rachel could only stare back at Infinity. Nigel Uno, Numbuh 1 of Sector V, a traitor? Of all operatives, he would go AWOL?

_That's not possible. Nigel is nothing if not loyal to the KND. He was hurt more than any of us because of Chad's betrayal!_

"I take it you're still unconvinced?" It seems Infinity wasn't through with explaining his conspiracies. "Well, you should also ask yourself this: Why would Numbuh 1 betray us? He was one of the best we had, so what reason would he have to betray us when his thirteenth birthday was still so far away?"

One of the best… Well, he was incredibly angry at losing the cake mission to Sector W. Wounded pride, being isolated, a traitorous mentor… it could have such an effect. Could he have been disillusioned from the KND's cause of fighting adult tyranny?

"He wasn't thrilled at being removed from the Delightfuls' cake mission," Rachel conceded, "but I had only done that because we had intel that the Splinter Cell was going to use it to influence him!" It was true, Numbuh 65.3 had relayed rumors that something big was going to happen. Turns out he was right.

"Did he see it that way, though? Seems to me like his wounded ego couldn't handle being replaced by your brother." Infinity had a knack for debate, its why he was promoted so quickly to head diplomat.

_You're saying it's my fault?_

"I'm sorry Numbuh Infinity, but I don't think Numbuh 1 would ever betray us over something silly like being replaced on a mission. He has served this organization loyally for years, and I've known him for almost as long, with a quadruple amount of disagreements to match. Betrayal isn't in his vocabulary."

"The same could have been said about Chad." With that statement, Infinity rose from his chair and headed towards the door. "I don't have much time left; I'm sure Numbuh 48 Flavors will be calling for me soon about the negotiations. I'm sure a couple of super-duper rare Yipper card sets will make him forget about the ice cream. If you'll excuse me, sir."

As Infinity leaves the office, Rachel is only left with doubt and regret. _If Nigel really left because of me… I can't really believe that… but…_

An incoming transmission on her computer snaps Rachel out of her thoughts and forces her to turn back towards her monitor to respond.

"Numbuh 86, do you read? Are they ready to be transported for decommissioning?" After a week, a missing kid's parents are to have their memories wiped until the kid has been found. This is standard protocol to ensure that the KND remains anonymous. Less adults asking questions, the better. And since its been over a week since Nigel's disappearance, his parents have been slated for a memory wipe.

"Ya wouldn't believe this sir, but their memories 'ave already been wiped!" What? That's not possible. Nigel's parents weren't approved for decommissioning until this morning.

"Fanny, are you sure? There haven't been any records of them being decommissioned yet."

"I'm positive sir!" Seeing her on screen, Rachel noticed that Fanny was more than just baffled. She looked _worried_. "They don't know nuthin about that stubborn, stoopid bald boy! They're actin' like they've never had a kid before. And one of them keeps asking me if I've played the sousaphone!"

Thinking on what to do, Rachel had an idea. "Fanny, bring them to Moonbase. I'll have them scheduled for recommissioning so we can question them on who actually wiped their minds. Maybe it can give us a lead on One's and the Splinter Cell's whereabouts." Having the geeks tinker with Numbuh 0's destroyed recommissioning module was all of suddenly worth all the candy wasted in that one-sided trade. Greedy nerds.

"O' course, sir! We're on it! MOVE IT YA LAZY BOYS, OUR SUPREME LEAD-!" Cutting off the transmission, Rachel leaned back into her chair.

_Finally, a lead that can put and end to this terrible game of hide-and-seek._

Still, a thought disturbed the young leader. The Splinter Cell has access to the decommissioning chambers? Those chambers aren't to be used without the Supreme Leader's approval, so either the decommissioning squad has a mole or the Splinter Cell has high-level 2x4 tech. Turning her chair to gaze out into the stars shining through her window, Rachel couldn't help but think that she was about to uncover one of the greatest conspiracies that the KND has ever known.


End file.
